The “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign by Iran’s prisoners has entered the 16th week of their hunger strike, protesting the treatment of political prisoners Khosrow Besharat and Kamran Sheikheh.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the group said that Basharat and Sheikheh had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for execution.
The statement went on to compare the current situation to the horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
It argued that the psychological torture inflicted by prolonged solitary confinement before execution is crueler than the methods employed by the Nazis.
“The agents of the Islamic Republic are subjecting these men to a horrific ordeal,” the statement read.
“Fourteen days of solitary confinement is a form of torture in itself,” it added.
The statement also criticized the recent crackdown on dissent in Iran, including the increased presence of the morality police enforcing dress codes for women.
The campaign members said the government is attempting to silence potential protests by repressing both activists on the streets and prisoners of conscience.
The weekly hunger strike began in February and involved prisoners from various Iranian jails.
Number of executions in Iran was 853 in 2023, which is the highest recorded since 2015 and marks a 48 per cent increase from 2022 in the aftermath of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.
The spike in death penalties has continued into 2024, with at least 95 recorded executions by March 20, according to Amnesty International.
Source » iranwire